Yet again, I am taking walks around my hometown with my camera, trying to get the steps in as I rebuild my energy levels after contracting CFS/ME/Long-COVID two years ago. This time, I wanted to try to shoot the off-shore wind farm off the south coast of the UK.
The light was pretty good, a little flat as there was no direct sunlight, but it created a lovely backdrop to the wind farm.
"Peacehaven Cliff's just before Sunset": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/6.3, Focal Length: 200mm, Exposure: 1/160 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:33
The Carrion Crow from my previous post was still hanging around; some restaurants are there, so they probably live pretty well off dropped scraps near bins.
"Carrion Crow, looking at the camera": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/11, Focal Length: 500mm, Exposure: 1/100 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:39
The wind farm was finished in 2018 and currently powers about half of the homes in Sussex when it's at its peak. The boxy structure on stilts is the off-shore substation where the cable runs across the sea bed and makes Landfall at Brooklands Pleasure Beach.
The farm is named after the "Pride of Sussex" flower, the Round-Headed Rampion. This was chosen as the county flower for Sussex, sadly I don't have a photo of this flower.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm and Substation at sunset": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/11, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/500 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:37
The wind farm, and many like it, works by converting the wind's energy into electricity through 116 off-shore turbine generators. Each turbine creates 3.45mw of electricity at peak with three blades measuring 55 meters each. The turbines stand 80m off mean sea level; while they may look small in the pictures, they are huge.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm and Substation at sunset": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/6.3, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/1600 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:33
The wind farm was situated around 18km from where I was standing, which was about 2m back from the cliff edge on the path. This was the first time I got clear shots at 600mm, as atmospheric distortion over that distance can create extreme artifacts.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm at sunset": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/6.3, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/3200 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:34
I did a lot of experimenting with angles, changing my angle to try and get the turbines spread out enough but keeping multiple rows in the shot.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm at sunset": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/11, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/320 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:36
As the evening set in, a small boat crossed the scene, adding some interest and an idea of the vast expanse compared to a small boat that the sea represents.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm at sunset with a small boat in the foreground": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/11, Focal Length: 202mm, Exposure: 1/250 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:41
I'm not sure what kind of boat this was, but it seemed to be navigating from the east to the west towards Brighton or Shorham.
"Shot of the Rampion Wind Farm at sunset with a small boat in the foreground": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/11, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/500 sec, ISO: 800, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Sunday, 07 January 2024 15:41
I hope you enjoyed getting up close and personal with these mammoth machines off the coastline. They have fascinated me for years, and I'm glad I was able to Zoom in a little.
Looks like you’re very good at taking pictures and this is a proof
I love the pictures
Keep it up!
Very kind of you to say, I'm still practicing, learning the craft, it's a lifelong journey IMHO.
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